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Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Rapid Re-Housing to Reduce Homelessness in the United States

Researchers are evaluating the impact of rapid re-housing on homelessness and health outcomes for single adult individuals.

Countering Covid-19 Misinformation through WhatsApp in Zimbabwe

Jeremy Bowles
Shelley Liu
In this randomized evaluation in Zimbabwe, researchers studied how social media messages targeting misinformation can affect people’s beliefs about and responses toward Covid-19. The study found that these messages increased participants’ knowledge of Covid-19 information by 7 percentage points and...

The Impact of an Inventory Credit Program on Palm Oil Farmers in Sierra Leone

Researchers tested the effect of an inventory credit program that provided storage facilities and loans on palm oil farmers’ agricultural activities in Sierra Leone. Take-up and use of the storage and loans was low, and there was no impact on total storage or timing of sales.

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Consumption and Household Balance Sheets in the United States

David E. Broockman
Patrick Krause
Elizabeth Rhodes
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation testing the impact of monthly cash transfers of $1,000 to low-income individuals in Texas and Illinois on household expenditures, debts and assets, and financial health. The study found that receiving the cash transfer increased spending by $310 per...

Biased Beliefs and the Dynamic Role of Information in College Choice in Chile

Claudia Allende
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation in Chile to study the impact of altering high school students’ beliefs about the returns of college degrees on their decisions to invest in college preparation and which program they choose.

The Impact of Bid Training on Small Firm Growth in Liberia

Fei Ao
Vinayak Iyer
Golvine de Rochambeau
Researchers evaluated the impact of a bid training program on the business performance of local small and medium-sized firms. The bid training led firms to bid on and win more contracts, with the positive impacts concentrated on a quarter of firms.

Evaluating the Impact of Online Education in Russia

Igor Chirikov
René Kizilcec
Natalia Maloshonok
Tatiana Semenova
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact and cost-effectiveness of fully online and blended STEM classes in Russia on student test scores. Students in online and blended courses achieved similar scores to students in traditional in-person courses at a lower cost.

Accelerating Changes in Norms about Social Distancing to Combat COVID-19

James Riddell IV
Tanya Rosenblat
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluations to test the impact of different types of public health messaging on the practice of social distancing.